Pitt Men's Soccer Defeats Cornell in NCAA Tournament

Pitt Panthers men's soccer defeated Cornell in the NCAA Tournament.

Dominic Campbell | 6 Hours Ago

Pitt Men's Soccer defender Mateo Maillefaud dribbles in / Courtesy of Pitt Athletics

PITTSBURGH -- Pitt Panthers men's soccer stayed strong defensively and held on for a 1-0 victory over Cornell in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament.

The Panthers (13-5) get their first ever win over the Big Red (13-4-2) in the first meeting. It also ends a two match losing streak, as they dropped 2-0 defeats to the Syracuse Orange on the road in the regular season finale on Nov. 1 and the Virginia Cavaliers in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals on Nov. 10.

It also marks the fourth time that Pitt has made the Sweet 16, all coming in the past five seasons, as head coach Jay Vidovich has turned the program into one of the best in the country.

Cornell came out the better of the two teams, creating more chances and looking more likely to score.

The Big Red scored in the ninth minute, after some poor play from the Panthers defensively. Replay showed that the ball deflected off of senior forward Alioune Ka before finding sophomore forward Alex Harris, who would go on an score, which marked him offside and kept it 0-0.

Pitt would have some chances themselves, with senior defender Mateo Maillefaud hitting a shot just over the crossbar with his weaker foot in the 18th minute and then a flurry of free kicks around the 35th and 36th minutes.

The game changed drastically when Panthers junior defender Jackson Gilman made a slide tackle that caught Ka, who was free on goal. The referee would give a red card and confirmed his call in the 40th minute, putting the Panthers down to 10 men.

Pitt would get a big call, as a cross from freshman forward Lasse Dahl caught the outstretched arm of Cornell freshman defender Aidan Martin, which gave them a penalty.

Graduate student midfielder Arnau Vilatmitjana stepped up, sent the keeper the wrong way and cooly put it to the left corner, giving Pitt a 1-0 lead right before halftime.

PANTHERS CONVERT PENALTY TO GO UP 1#NCAASoccer x 🎥 ESPN+ / @Pitt_MSOC pic.twitter.com/tSJdLDWJYm
— NCAA Soccer (@NCAASoccer) November 24, 2024

Cornell put on the pressure to start the second half, as they needed to score a goal to get back into the match.

Big Red sophomore midfielder Connor Miller put in a shot from outside the box that deflected off of Panthers senior midfielder Guilherme Feitosa right into the hands of junior goalkeeper Cabral Carter in the 54th minute.

Ka would find Harris for another Cornell chance in the 60th minute, but he put his header over the goal.

Pitt senior midfielder Michael Sullivan, who moved to centre-back after Gilman got sent off, made a great save with his legs to trap a shot from Cornell freshman midfielder Dominik Kolbl in the 77th minute.

The Panthers almost doubled their lead in the 80th minute, as senior midfielder Casper Grening came off the left wing and put his shot just wide of the inside of the far post.

The Big Red then had a great chance in the 83rd minute, as junior forward Giorgos Diakos chested a ball down to Harris, whose volley jsut went right over the goal.

Cornell had one last chance in the 89th minute on a free kick just outside the box, but Miller put it over the goal and Pitt would hold on for the win.

Pitt will host the winner of No. 15 Missouri State vs. UKMC in the Sweet 16 (Round of 16) on either Nov. 30 or Dec. 1.

#Pitt men’s soccer, with 10 men for 50 minutes, holds on for the 1-0 win over Cornell to move onto the Sweet 16

Fourth time in five seasons they’ve made it to a Sweet 16 pic.twitter.com/WdQBAx6UTT
— Dominic Campbell (@DOMISMONEY) November 25, 2024